You wouldn’t know from the chiselled abs and defined jawline, but Ishaan Khatter is a huge fan of Gujarati food. In conversation with Curly Tales, The Royals actor detailed the dishes he grew up on, and which have found a core place in his memory.
“I was born and raised in Bombay, and the first in my family to be so. Home was kind of inspired, mostly by North Indian styles. I would go to a Gujarati school, to Jamunabai, so our canteen food used to be vegetarian — Gujju daal and rice, we used to get those thaalis. Pure vegetarian food. And chapatis. Humaare ghar mein roti bolte thhe, but that’s where the diversity began. And vada pav used to be short break – 5 rupay ka vada pav milta tha humko in the canteen,” he said.
Gujarati daal, made properly, is a delicate balancing act, a simple dish that is, like so many other simple dishes, an excellent test of your judgement as a cook. In a previous article in this publication, we detailed this simple traditional dish and its flavour profile.
It’s sweet, thanks to sugar or jaggery, but it’s also got a bright tartness that comes from lime juice or tamarind (or even kokum). Ginger and green chillies add their own unique heat to it, as do cinnamon and cloves (if used). Coriander leaves add a burst of freshness and peanuts add some texture to the smooth, watery broth made of cooked and mashed toor dal (pigeon pea).
Ishaan loves Gujarati daal (Source: Freepik)
Here’s a quick recipe for you to make this at home:
Recipe:
1 cup toor dal
¼ cup raw peanuts
2-3 green chillies, minced
½ inch piece of ginger, ground to a paste
¼ cup Jaggery or sugar – adjust this according to taste
Juice from 1 lime – can be replaced with tamarind or kokum water. Adjust according to taste
Fresh coriander leaves, chopped fine
A pinch of turmeric
Salt, to taste
Aromatics for tempering:
½ tsp Mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
A pinch of asafoetida
1 sprig of fresh curry leaves
½ inch stick of cinnamon (optional)
3-4 cloves (optional)
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Method:
- Cook the toor dal with some turmeric in a pressure cooker. It should become soft because once you’ve opened the cooker, you’ll need to mash it into a paste.
- Add some more water to get a brothy consistency (since this dal is thinner than most other kinds of dal), add the peanuts, green chillies, ginger and some salt and, on a high flame, bring it to a boil.
- Reduce the flame and let it simmer until the peanuts are cooked. Then add jaggery (or sugar) and stir to dissolve.
- If you’re using kokum or tamarind water, add it now and bring to a boil, then switch off the flame. If you’re using lime juice, add it only at the end after turning off the flame.
- Temper the aromatics and add them to the dal, followed by fresh coriander leaves and lime juice (if using).
- Remember to keep tasting the dal as you go and adjusting the proportion of sweet and sour (even salt) to find the right balance.
